11 weeks for a work permit?
Hi all,
I accepted a job that I interviewed for in late September at Cornell. It's been 11 weeks since I interviewed (about 10 weeks from when I accepted the offer) and my work visa still hasn't come in.
Is this the typical amount of time to obtain a work visa? I know there was Eid El Adha and Thanksgiving but that amounts to a 2 week delay at most.
Human resources told me initially it would take 4 weeks. Then they said it'll take longer because they had to obtain the report of my complete international background check first and the attestation of the Qatar Embassy in the U.S. of my police clearance to get my work visa (I thought the police clearance report would have no influence on my work visa and applies to my residency permit). They now have all my paperwork (attested police clearance and completed background check) and I have no word of a work visa or employment agreement.
I've already been introduced and continue to be introduced as part of the team by my new boss so them changing their mind about me is not a concern.
In October, HR mentioned that if my arrival date gets too close to Christmas/New Years (i.e. after mid-December) that I won't be able to come until after the first week of January when most of the mobilization staff will be back from holiday. That leads to my second question: how long does it take to move someone typically (i.e. sending the packers, arranging plane tickets, housing, etc)? I know that they are the best ones to ask and I have but I always get an oblique answer or avoidance of my questions no matter how direct and clear my questions are.
Thanks for your input ahead of time!
It's one of the requirements for the residency permit that chosen candidates are asked to produce.
If Happy is working for an educational institution he does need police clearance in order to get his permit.
Thank you and the others for the input about the visa. And thanks for noticing the double talk.
ignore any negative comments in this thread. i'm sure u had read some even suggested that you dont come to qatar to work. dont u think that the responder is contradicting himself/herself? if he/she can suggest that you dont come to Qatar because of this or that, then why is the person still here in qatar? so, ignore them. your question needs an attention and a sensible answer. all i can say is, it takes more than 5 working days. mine was close to 4 working weeks. just wait and u'll get the visa ready. you dont need to sign a contract for visa application. you dont a police clearance from your home country for visa application. but you need to sign a letter of offer.
*qatar is where you should be, if you want earn alot of money. so of course some will urge you to stay away. i urge you to come over and try out.
Liars, lazy and unprofessional people exist everywhere. They're not all conglomerated in the Middle East. Patience, acceptance and tolerance are indeed virtues that are great.
All true, QS!
Mandi
Mandi, even if you had a number, the website won't show the progress, it will show only either "Under processing" or just the visa itself in case it's already issued. And definitely she cannot just give a call to authorities and ask them, what's the status of my application? :):)
I think one has to learn to be patient, especially since he/she is coming to Middle East !! As I said, with such type of mindset, like "everybody here are liars, lazy, and unprofessional" it's better to stay in US.
You would have to have the number of the visa application form in order to access the visa status online.
Mandi
Can one ask about one's own visa status directly from the Qatari government or is the employer the only one privy to it?
Well, first you sign a contract. And there is a clause, that the contract is subject to visa approval. If you don't have a contract, some countries don't even let you leave to work in Qatar! (Without a contract signed and stamped by the Ministry of Labor)
WIth 3 employers in 2 countries I never signed a contract until residency and work permits were issued - there was no point if the authorities wouldn't let me stay.
As someone else mentioned, try to build a rapport with your boss - it's their job to put the pressure on HR to do their job - it certainly sounds as if HR is having problems here
The HR coordinator initially said it was the other way around: that the ball won't start to roll unless the work visa comes through. After the work visa arrives, then I get to sign the contract.
Replies and feedback like yours are very helpful because although everyone's case is different and things change, at least I get a clearer picture of what the process involves.
I grew frustrated with the evasive answers or no answers at all. But like you said, I have to relax.
I mean "anticipate" as "to know beforehand; to foresee"...not that I think I'm a VIP arriving. In other words, to anticipate my arrival as in to know the date of my arrival so that the required steps they need to take (such as contracting/preparing an apartment, transportation, etc.) can be carried out at the right time and not too early or too late.
confirmed
does help
I guess I'd better get another police clearance certificate just
Currently attend
The hiring procedure
1. do you think it is wise to mention the name of your employer on a public forum?
2. Read Qatarisun's advice it's excellent - and maybe if you don't agree you need to reconsider your move here
... oh well, seems like your HR Coordinator doesn't know his job =( In my case, passport copy, signed employment contract and degree certificate were the initial documents they needed to secure the working visa... and the process from what I understood from our HR, the HR Coordinator will forward those to QF and QF to the MOI. Well, yeah different cases for everyone but to think that we are under one umbrella... well.. it should work the same atleast.
... I am also working for one of the universities in EC, and I got my working visa in 6 weeks, 2 weeks being EID so it should have been actually ready in 4 weeks. But did I read that right, from one of your post you said you haven't got your contract signed yet..? Without it... well... the ball won't start to roll.
Mariee.Clare: Yes, the sponsorship will be under QF.
... you are right about the police clearance having no influence over your working visa but yeah you will eventually need that on your residency permit. I think the HR Coordinator is just making lame excuses and she's just sitting on her a55 doing nothing. Did they tell you if the sponsorship's going to be under QF?
Thanks for the recent comment I am new here adapting to this new way of living. A very good advice to the new comer. Whole hearted thanks for you Qatarisun.
eeehhh.. Happy Horizons... my personal friendly advice.. pls change your attitude now, before arriving, otherwise things won't go smooth..
1. pack a looooooot of patience in your luggage - first!
2. Let things go their natural way..
3. Push neither matters, nor people..
4. never judge qatari government..
5. take out of your vocabulary expressions like
-"to anticipate my arrival" (don't think you are the most important person in Qatar or even in this Company, and everybody are busy with anticipating you here),
-"..so I expected" (don't expect!)..
-"honest answers" (not because they all are entire liars, but because there is NO "honest answer"
...simply, RELAX, and try to adopt new rules, new style, new culture, new reality!
Deal with your new boss directly. He/she is the one who has a vested interest in getting you here. If you and the boss decide on a date HR will have to accomodate.
Mandi
exexexpat - so your guy was not currently resident in the US - and you're dealing with Embassies - that's different from someone coming direct from their country of origin.
Happy - you seem to be a victim of the non customer service culture pervasive in the Gulf. In many (if not most) organizations here, if someone is on vacation, sick leave or gone to the bathroom, there is No one Else who can do his/her job - it's idiotic but it's how it is here. Try to be patient, if you've got all the docs and all the i's dotted and the t's crossed you should get here ......sometime
Eid...National day.. weekend.. someone is on vacation.. someone is on sick leave.. someone doesn't know what documents are needed... someone forgot to tell you what exactly they want from you.. someone says every day "boukra, insha'allah" and postpone your application till tomorrow, and again till tomorrow, and again till tomorrow...
... welcome to Qatar!..:):)
by our HR that they had to get the clearance through the American Embassy. The Embassy does it through the FBI not local police departments apparently.
Happy Horizons, all I can say, there is no certain time frame for anything in here. Work visa can be issued actually in 3 days.. sometimes it takes 3 weeks.. sometimes it takes 3 months... sometimes it's never issued.. you never know..
as for "arranging plane tickets, housing,etc", well, as long as Internet is on and Expedia.com is there, i guess, it takes few minutes for the ticket. Housing.. Unless they have their own Company accommodation, they most likely will give you some temporary accommodation, such as a Hotel or temporary apartment. Later, depends on the level of your position, you will be given few places to chose from. Another option, if accommodation allowance is given, you will have to find a place to live by yourself. But 11 weeks still seems to be too long, although i am not sure when all necessary documents have been finally gathered. If it happened few days back, start count from this date, not from the day of Job offer acceptance.
When was the last document submitted? i.e. police clearance - residency/work visa is immaterial for your employer you need that police clearance in order to process the work visa which will get you residency. Thanksgiving or Christmas is not on the radar here - Eid was. It's been over 2 weeks so it shouldn't be a factor at this point. The next big hurdle is nationality - are you being processed on a US passport or other? If other, that may be the sticking point - there are limits for certain nationalities on who gets a work visa.
I find the FBI being added to the mix might be misleading. I know a lot of Americans and no one has ever mentioned the FBI in the mix. Most require state clearance at most. But I could be wrong (not being American myself).
Another factor is the PRO or mandoob for Cornell, if he is on vacation or doesn't have the "right" connections, the process can be delayed.
doing business, with avoidance the most common method of handling questions from people who expect things to run reasonably professionally.
It involves a sponsorship transfer and requires a police clearance from the FBI. The Embassy said because the FBI is so backlogged it will take 4 months minimum and 6 maximum. So yes, it could take this long, especially considering nothing much gets done here for the week before, during and after the Eids.